MORE THAN 1000 CHILDREN WAS BORN IN THE MOSCOW ZOO FOR 2019

31.12.2019

The outgoing year was truly fruitful for the capital zoo. Its collection was replenished with a number of rare animal species, and birth rates exceeded the last year ones. Now the zoo's collection totals 12345 specimens and 1256 species, many of which are listed in the International Red book and the Red book of Russia.

High birth rates indicate that animals are kept in the most comfortable conditions, receive proper care and a balanced diet. Birds traditionally became one of the champions in the number of cubs born. They had 287 chicks. Zoo specialists managed to get offspring from a rare Kaffir horned raven: three little crows Sokrat, Bruno and Plato were hand-fed by ornithologists and at the end of the summer took their place on the exposition. Also, thanks to the painstaking work of zoologists, two chicks of a black stork and four Guinea turacos were born. All of them were fed and raised by specialists.

In addition, replenishment occurred in pink and red flamingos: now all seven chicks, which differ from adults in grayish plumage, can be seen in the aviary on a Large pond. Also, rare gray-winged trumpeters became parents for the first time. After artificial incubation of the egg, a small lively chick was born. The care of its feeding and training completely fell on the shoulders of zoologists. You can see a grown-up two-month-old trumpeter in the aviary in the «House of birds» pavilion. There you can also visit four chicks of Humboldt penguins and three chicks of spectacled penguins that have grown stronger during the summer.

In addition, steppe eagles, snowy owls, Dalmatian and great white pelicans, and some other birds get the offspring. Mammals keep abreast the birds. In total, 185 cubs to representatives of this class were born during the year. Meerkats (3), Kirk dikdiks (2), Sumatran orangutans (1), Eastern European lynx (2), Japanese macaques (1), fur seals (1), blue sheep (1), Dagestan tours (10), and markhors (6), Sichuan takins (1), lion-tailed macaques (1) and some others became parents.

Also over the past year, it was managed to achieve significant success in breeding reptiles. A total of 62 cubs were born in the representatives of this class. One of the main achievements was the hatching of a rare Mexican beaded lizard. In captivity, the reproduction of these animals is associated with a number of significant difficulties, however, the specialists of the Moscow zoo managed to create optimal conditions for the maintenance of these reptiles, successfully form a pair and get healthy offspring. Now you can admire the grown-up lizard at the exhibition “Amazing world of reptiles”. Also, the Reisinger monitor lizard, plated lizard, the xenosaurus and flat-tailed gecko - a recently discovered Madagascar species, replenished the collection of reptiles.

However, 2019 was remembered not only for a decent birth rate: the zoo managed to get many rare species from other foreign and domestic zoological organizations. One of the main events was the return of giant pandas to the exposition. A pair of young bamboo bears was transferred to the zoo for temporary maintenance for a period of 15 years as part of an international program for the conservation, protection and research of this species. Over the past six months, Dindin and Zhui have completely adapt to their new home and have already won the hearts of all visitors without exception.

Also, the collection of the zoo was replenished with a rare Myna: three females were brought from the Warsaw zoo in September. Two of them settled in the branch of the zoo near Volokolamsk, and one took its place in the “House of birds”. Next year it is planned to bring males of this species in order to form pairs and get offspring in perspective.

The long-awaited event was the arrival of Golden maned tamarins. These miniature primates appeared at the zoo for the first time in its history. A rare binturong, a male of maned wolf and a female of bush dog also included the collection. The last two animals were brought as part of the European population program for the formation of breeding pairs. Zoologists have already managed to create a pair of bush dogs Witzley and Frey, and maned wolves Falcao and Emilia. It is planned that next year visitors to the zoo will be able to admire the puppies of these rare species.

“2019 was a year full of active and fruitful work. We were able to successfully implement a lot of what was intended. This is the main motivation to move forward and work even harder next year, to improve the conditions of our inhabitants, to bring more new species to the exposition. It is very important that residents and guests of the capital had the opportunity to admire the diversity of the fauna of the Earth, to get acquainted with it in all its glory. Only in this way we will be able to instil a careful attitude to nature and an awareness of our responsibility for the future of each individual species to as many people as possible” – Moscow zoo CEO Svetlana Akulova said.